The Oppertune Moment
by EdwardsOnly
Summary: The opportune moment, the three words Catalina Ramston hates most. -A young female Pirate finds herself in a mess after stealing a map to a treasure that doesn't want to be found, being held captive, and worst of all missing Jack. JackOC, BarbossaOC
1. Shot Down

Catalina Ramston kicked as hard as she could until she broke the surface of the cold water. She winced in pain as the salt water licked her wounded shoulder. The wreckage from her ship surrounded her on all sides; the only remains of the bloody battle that had left _her_ ship, The Entourage, to begin its decent to the bottom of the ocean. As a piece of rigging floated by her, she clutched onto it knowing full well she couldn't think straight and keep afloat at the same time. She needed to find a way out of this situation.

It was The Black Pearl that had put her and her crew in this mess. She scanned the water for survivors from her crew. Catalina doubted that even a few of them were still alive, most were certainly on their way to the depths of the Caribbean ocean along with her ship. The Pearl had approached them from behind, but when one of her crew finally noticed it, it was to late. It was because of that they didn't have time to prepare for an attack. Apparently, The Pearl had heard tale of her recent acclimation of a map with a legend behind it that spoke of untold amounts of wealth. The Pearl not wanting complications, and more booty for its self, did what any other ship full of pirates would do and attacked in hopes of taking the map for their selves. After all isn't it easier to search bodies once their dead? And this was exactly how Catalina had gotten herself into her current situation. The only problem the Pearl had now was the ship they had wanted to search was now sinking, and their only vital piece of information was floating in the ocean clutching to a piece of rigging.

As she stared out at the wreckage and watched as it slowly sank, she thought over the last hour, and what had happened. She felt a pang of anguish not only for losing a ship, _that may or may not have been hers_, but also with the thought of the fate she had brought her crew. How many had survived? How many were still on the ship as it sank? When crew members of the Pearl began to board The Entourage and fire, all hell had broken loose. She had shot and been shot. She absent mindedly rubbed at her now bleeding shoulder. When the ship started taking on masses of water she knew that her escape had to be made so she jumped with a few others. A few had made it.. most quiet obviously hadn't; the dead body of the cook, Briggs floated by. Once a large number of her crew had jumped ship, the other Pirates began picking them off in the water, no need for survivors right? But it was soon after that the Pirates from the Pearl realized their mistake, they had done quite a number with bullet and canon holes on The Entourage and it was taking on too much water. Catalina now floated and watched as pirates other than her own dismembered _her _ship frantically trying to find the map that she had on her person. She continued to look around her looking for an escape, how long till they started searching the water? It was then, to her dismay she saw the crewmen of the Pearl already returning to their ship. They must have figured out what they needed to be looking for… her. She watched in horror as two long boats were lowered; they _were_ going to search the water. She now only had a few options, test how long she could hold her breath, give herself up hoping they would just throw her back in, or play dead.

The two long boats drifted lazily through the water, their occupants shouting various things to each other, curses, threats, promises for a fight the usual for a pirate. The young Captain decided it best to play dead and dropped her head down near the surface of the water hoping to appear dead still drooped over the pieces of rigging she clutched dearly to. "with a bit of luck I'll be passed off for a dead crewman, and they'll pass by, they won't even recognize it's me.." Catalina thought. She floated there for a few minutes still listening to the shouts of the men in the two boats. If they moved toward her she would kick and spit as best she could with an injured shoulder. She obviously wouldn't be able to shoot them with a wet pistol, so it would be all she could do.

It was slowly occurring to her what a mess she was in, she knew she stood no chance if they pulled her out of the water-- but it was then without warning two strong tanned arms pulled her out the water and onto the floor of the boat. She let out a scream of rage as her shoulder was jarred. She tried desperately to kick out at the men who had pulled her out of the water but she was out numbered five to one and considerably down on size, being only 5'5 herself and these men more than typically large. She decided it was best to stop the struggle when only three of the five had her _very_ restrained.. A hand roughly brushed her wet hair out of her face and their owners voice spoke, "yep its her alright".

The five men surrounding her in the small boat laughed loudly, sharing a private joke and giving her shameless looks. They must have been excited at the prospect at finding a potentially unconscious woman in the water. But instead they had ended up with a particularly feisty, small woman who was injured and trapped closely between them. She now had no other option but to be taken aboard, what was she going to do, fight them alloff? Shoot them all with a _wet_ gun? No, she'd have to take her chances on board, take her chances with Barbossa. She stopped her struggle, remebering something she had been told once- wait for the opportune moment. And with thast she sat down on the floor of the boat.

"You know what he'll do when we get 'er on board?" a voice broke out above her,

"Take tha' map and throw her back in?" another said stupidly.

"No, take the map, an keep 'er for 'imself," The first retorted crudely.

" 's why we should 'ave a little fun 'fore we go back," A third said as a hand was placed on the small of Catalina's back, grazing the laces of the corset she wore over her tattered shirt. She struggled away from his touch and turned and stared at them, what insolence, would they really try to pull that over on their Captain? Barbossa? Idiots.

"Aye we can't do tha' he can see us from up there," another Pirate said gesturing back to the Pearl.

"Smart Man," Catalina said quietly.

"Quiet wench!" the one closest to her said raising his hand and slapping the back of it across her face. Striking her face into the chest of the one who had spoken first and who had been holding her arms the entire time. Well hell, what if she never even made it on the Pearl? Where was that opportune moment she desperately needed?

"Your right though, always does keep the best plunder for himself," the fifth said also placing a hand on her too, slowly moving it towards her face. This situation was slowly going from bad to worse.

"Aye, there are times when I wish we still 'ad Jack." The second Pirate who had spoken said. --Smack! Someone had apparently hit him;

"Ye shouldn't be sayin' things like that! We got stuff to do, we'll mess with this wench later" the one holding her said pushing her. "Can pay her a visit later I 'pose." He said leaning in to smell her hair close to her neck. She shuddered and cringed away from him as best she could, but he gripped tightly on her injured shoulder trying to keep her where she was. He leered at her, knowing exactly what he was doing.

The men surronding her laughed at this scene and then they all stopped talking. The long boat had apparently reached the ship. Catalina felt those same arms around her small waist; she struggeled again but was quickly lifted off and upward onto a ladder extending to the Black Pearl. Without warning she was tossed very hard onto the deck of the ship. She reminded still and laid there clutching her shoulder. The deck of the ship was busy, Catalina who was face down couldn't see and could only hear, but she recognized the sounds of canons being stowed, ropes being folded and tons of foot falls. She felt someone moving near her hip but didn't care, the pain was to intense in her shoulder so she continued to lay still.

"Leave the girl her gun, she can't use it, to wet, it'll give her a false sense of security." …aah so the opportune moment would come she thought slowly as pain still seered through her, glad to know she'd stay attached to her gun. But then it hi her whom that voice that had spoken above her belonged to, she knew that voice.. The sound was coming from somewhere near her her head; she was kicked roughly over onto her back, probably bruising her ribs. "That bastard," she thought to herself, picturing Barbossa's smug face as he kicked her small form all over his ship. The ass was probably enjoying beating a woman. Catalina let her head loll as her body flopped over onto her back. She kept her eyes closed preferring not to look at the man standing above her head smirking down at her. A cold bucket of water was poured over her, near her shoulder causing pain to shoot through it again as salt water once again entered her wound. A foot kicked at her again. She spluttered in surprise and now tried to get up. Two strong arms once again hauled her up, now holding her slightly up off her feet. Catalina's eyes adjusted and focused onto the face of Captain Barbossa, who was standing in front of her gloating down at her, he too was considerably larger than she even while she was being held up off her feet.

"Welcome aboard the Black Pearl Miss Ramston. Hows the shoulder?" He laughed loudly at the joke, now joined by the rest of the crew as they stopped their work to listen in to the conversation.

Catalina struggled against her holder, and out at Barbossa, "Its Captain Ramston. And I swear to you Barbossa you kick me again, I'll cut off your leg and beat you with it" She replied angrily matching her stare.

For the second time that day a hand collide with her face, this time with such force her head jerked to the side and into the chest of the man holding her. She spat again, but this time blood, out onto the deck. The crew surrounding her laughed manically. Crazy Bastard. The hands holding her pushed her down to the deck hard so she landed on her hands and knees. She grabbed at her gun, if she couldn't shoot it, she'd beat him over the head with it, but before she managed it, She was pulled up by her wet hair, he face pulled up level to look right into Barbossa's eyes.

"It's _Captain _Barbossa, my dear." He smiled again at his own joke, "And I do suppose I'll be taking that gun now." He said placing his hand on her hip and tracing it suggestively down to where her gun was holstered. "Don't want you gettin' any ideas." He left his hand there and continued to stare at her. "Seem to have forgotten how feisty my little red head was," Barbossa said quietly moving a hand to grab up a piece of her dark red hair and smelling it.

Catalina stared furiously up at him "_Your_ little red head?" Barbossa continued to stare at her for a moment released her hair and shouted for someone to take her to the brig.

[[Well there's the start to the story! Sure has been through a lot of changes, just cant seem to find something I am happy with. Maybe this will be the one.. This is one of my first POTC stories so I suppose I just want to get it right. This is the third draft and I shouldn't be changing it to much anymore.. sorry to those you have that have had to struggel through the different drafts, and through the name changes and such... so please review and continue reading.. let me know how I am doing, it will get better I promise!! --Edwardsonly]]


	2. Taken away

"_Seem to have forgotten how feisty my little red head was," Barbossa said quietly moving a hand to grab up a piece of her dark red hair._

_Catalina stared furiously up at him "Your little red head?" Barbossa continued to stare at her for a moment released her hair and shouted for someone to take her to the brig, walking away with her gun in his hand._

Catalina shook herself off, she'd have to burn her hair after having been touched by him; she grimaced, he made her feel like puking. But her thoughts were interrupted again as for a third time the young woman was hauled up off her feet, but this time she was being pushed away towards the stairs to the lower ship. She twitched uselessly in the arms of her captor, wishing to grab her pistol but obviously since she longer had it all she could do was just maintain an angry stare and walk forward. On a normal occasion Catalina would neither be handled this way by anyone or take being spoken to this way; being a woman, and a captain who was a woman, she had to be strong and appear tough. She tried to shift herself once more, but with no avail, and this just caused her holder to laugh and push her harder down the stairs, where she was thrown roughly into a cell.

"Cap'in will be wantin' that sword …" said the man who had been holding her as he began walking inside the cell with and backing her into the wall. But clearly he wasn't going to wait for her to take it off herself. Pushing her hard again, this time into the wall he stripped the sword from her hip and thigh, his hands brushing not to carefully and close to places they weren't allowed. He leered at her showing her he knew exactly what he was doing. She stared at him, unmoving, the man brushed a hand to her cheek and turned to walk out. The only response she could manage was spitting at his back as he walked out slamming the cell door in his wake.

Once shut inside her wet and dark prison, Catalina sat on the floor in the corner to mull over the recent events. All she'd wanted to do was get to where her stolen map led her, on her stolen ship, and steal some treasure for her own. Was that really that hard of a task to complete? Why had it not been as simple for her as it always had been for her past crew mates? She'd been captaining her "new" ship for about four weeks when she'd run into the Pearl today, and it had been going just fine. Why couldn't it all work out simply?

"Probably because none of this little escapade was actually yours," a little voice in her head told her. "You've stolen everything that's gotten you to this point."

"But that's what I do," she argued out loud to herself.

"Yep, your best at lying, cheating, gambling and screwing over men." The little voice continued.

"Well it's gotten us this far hasn't it?" She argued back again still out loud.

"Oh right yeah, really far, right into a cell, back on Barbossa's ship- right where we wanted to be." The little voice argued back.

"Suppose we can always start over again can't we?" She said out loud again, quieter this time.

"If you make it off this ship," the little voice said.

Since she was a young girl, Catalina had always been able to get what she'd wanted. When she grew into herself and finally figured out that she didn't want to be a pretty little china doll hauled up in a man's house good for only display and child bearing she discovered she could still get what she wanted by working over a man. She had learned at an early age men were simple creatures driven by two things, sex and money. Whether they hid it well or not, that was the root of all men, and she understood that fact very well. After making an escape from her family and turning pirate at the ripe age of 18 she made her way to the city of Sin, Tortuga, found her way onto a pirate ship, got what she needed, and moved to the next ship. She continued this process for a few years till she finally worked her way to having her own ship. She had learned the way of the sea, learned how to be cold, mean and strong, and mastered the ways of men. There wasn't a one she couldn't conquer and only a few she feared. This ship just happened to be home to one of those few men. Barbossa was a man more cold and calculating than she, and he was man that understood women. He knew what a woman could do to a man, and he knew how to control that. Catalina shuddered to think that she might not be able to get out of this one.

"I can do this," she said out loud confidently but still quiet. "He's a man, he thinks like one."

But the little voice didn't have to say something back for her to know that was a lie. She knew her regular way of dealing with men wasn't going to work this time, but why not try?

"So try I will." Catalina affirmed, She would need to get his attention first to work him like a ball of dough, and with that she began shouting as loud as she could.

"BARBOSSA! Get your ass down here and let me out! BARBOSSA!! You want this map your just gunna have to come get it! BARBOSSA!" She waited a beat, but still heard nothing, just the sound of regular deck activity above her head. "BARBOSSA! Let me out of here and fight me like a man you mangy bilge rat!"… still nothing. "BAR-BOS-SA!" she waited another second, but still only footsteps and voices. "I suppose I'll have to try harder" she said quietly to herself, she smiled knowing she'd regret this… "Well I suppose even if you did come down here to get this map you'd have no idea where it led. You're about as good at reading a map as you are at pleasing a woman, which I hear tell isn't very good with your undeniably small little _sword_." She spat the last word, knowing her meaning would be caught; but this time there _was_ something different. All the bustle on deck went almost silent. Clearly she'd been ignored till that point, and defiantly she had crossed the line this time. She heard a single pair of footsteps above her head, and those single pair continued their way down the stairs. She backed herself into a corner knowing full well she'd crossed the line, and knowing full well she had no idea what to do next.

It was Barbossa whose steps had been made across the deck and down the stairs and it was he who was now at the door of her cell quietly and slowly sliding the key into the hole and opening the door. Slowly he stepped into the cell menacingly slow and walked in and toward her and came to a stop inches from her face.

"Didja have somethin' to say to my face girl?" he said almost to quiet to hear. He was manipulating her fear of him, they both knew it. Catalina tried desperately to not show her fear, tried so hard to prove that she wasn't afraid of what this man could and would do, but she just simply couldn't make any words come out of her mouth, she just opened and shut it twice, and tried to back up even further into the corner of the cell , to try to get away from Barbossa who was towering over her.

"Suppose I'll 'ave showin' ye how I make use of my _little_ sword sooner rather than later won't I?" he said putting his mouth right to her ear and taking another step into her, his body now pressed closly to hers. He was talking even quieter than before. Without giving her a chance for response this time, he yanked her by the hair out of the cell and up to the deck.

Catalina yelped in protest, it felt like he was going to rip the hair right from her scalp. She'd really done it this time. How was she going to get out of this situation? They reached the Captain's cabin and he threw her inside. Catalina slammed to the floor right on her injured shoulder and the pain returned with ferocity to her body. She lay there panting hoping the pain would ease away again.

Barbossa closed the door behind him quietly and took off his hat tossing it to a table. He stood by the door watching the red head reeling on the floor in pain for a moment, contemplating and then moved to stand over her removing his jacket also as he went.

"So I suppose ye be knowin' why I sunk yer ship then?"

"Wha-what?" Catalina stammered out rolling onto her back to look up at Barbossa who now stood up above her. "That's it?"

Barbossa smirked down at her, "there'll be plenty a time ta be teachin' you a lesson 'bout respect later, right now we need ta be getting under way to tha' treasure a yourn." Catalina simply stared up at him, pain completely wiped out of her mind, she was shocked she wasn't be lashed out on deck right now, or worse.

"So yer ship," Barbossa continued

Catalina just continued starring at Barbossa with her mouth transforming to tight and full of anger, she wanted to spit at him again; how dare he bring up her sunken ship, and her dead crew.

"I thought so, ye wouldn't be happenin' to be havin' the map on yer person would ye? Probably tucked down that snug corset of yours wouldn't it?" Barbossa squatted down to where she lay on the floor of his cabin eyeing her and tracing a finger up the laces of her corset to where the top met the edge of her chest.

"Just down here then aye?" He questioned, quieter this time continuing his trail over top of her chest, brushing his fingers along the curves. She spat up at him again, this time hitting him square in the face. He retorted, hitting her harder than before on the face. He wiped his face and continued staring at her, "If'n yer not goin' ta give it to me, Miss Ramston, believe that I am very cabable of taking it." Catalina continued to stare up at him, mouth still tight with anger, she wasn't going to give in to his pushing, no matter how far he took this.

Barbossa leaned over then and grabbed her wrists pulling her up with him to stand. Catalina winced yet again at the pain where her shoulder had been shot earlier that day, Barbossa seemed to take no notice and sat down by his chart table putting his feet up and leaning back in the chair.

"Have a seat missy." But she didn't. "and take yer jacket off, yer gettin me floor wet."

"I said sit." He said more harshly. He gave her look that would make a small child cry but she remained standing where he left her, but removed her jacket. "Ya know Catalina, I figured tha' after all the time we be knowin' each other you'd of figured out by now tha' I am not a patient man nor a tolerant one." He said gesturing again that she sit. This time Catlaina moved, however slowly, toward the chair, placing her jacket on the back of it.

"Tha be a good lass, now were be my map?"

Catalina stopped, "I haven't the faintest idea what your talking about."

"Ye know ye be knowin' exactly what I'm talkin' about so you might as well make this less painless for yer self on fork it over." Barboassa said moving slightly to get up.

Catalina only raised a single eyebrow and continued her silence, now moving to sit down. Barbossa got up and walked behind where she now sat and brushed a piece of her dark hair, still damp, from her face. She shuddered at his touch, but he leaned down and talked closely to her ear.

"Unless ye be wanting me to start removing yer clothing to find it you'll be wanting to give me tha' map. I'll only ask ye this last time."

Catalina remained motionless still, and continued her composure of silence now crossing her legs and relaxing a little into the chair. Barbossa walked around to the front of her brushing a single finger along her chin. He was trying to bother her; trying to intimidate her, but she stayed strong and silent.

"Ye be angry about yer ship." Barbossa stated simply standing straight again. He started to slowly pace around her chair again, "with that treasure, you could afford a ship that _is_ yours. I can help ye do that."

Catalina still remained unspoken. He was right, she _was_ angry, but she wouldn't back down. She wanted him to realize that she wasn't weak and that she wasn't just some push-over wench.

"Well if ye not be talkin' to me and ye not be givin' me that map, suppose I'll have to be takin it me self…" said Barbossa again, reaching the front of her and pulling a knife from nowhere. And yet, Catalina remained still and composed in her seat. Barbossa brushed the cool metal slowly across the stoic red head's cheek and down to her chest. The cool meatl leaving a line of goosebumps in its wake. Catalina had absolutely no doubt in her mind that Barbossa would remove every scrap of clothing she had on to find that map, but she didn't want to give into him, so she finally spoke.

"Tell me Barbossa, how did you hear that I may or may not be in possession of a map?"

"We just happened to be in port the same time as you 'bout two days ago, tha's when I heard tell you'd ran inta Jack Sparrow a while back. See I'd been on the search fer him too, he _had_ the map you _now_ have. Funny how tha' works?' Barbossa paused his speech for a second, Catalina knew there really wasn't a reason for a responce so she waited till he continued, "Also had a ship.." Barbossa said quieter now, "how'd you end up with that same ship_ and_ map missy, ,with no Jack?" Catalina pursed her lips, and once again stayed silent. Wh was he asking? She knew he knew how she had ended up with it. Catalina also knew he was trying to guilt her. "Funnily enough then after I ran into a few of yer crew, one of em' happened ta be yer watchman. He decided he was better minded ta be helpin' us out and took a bribe to not mention us comin' up on ya today nor, havin' been followin' you fer the day past. All jus worked out so conveniently." Catalina was livid now.

"Why should I give it to you?" Catalina spit quietly.

"Because Miss Ramston, what other option do ye be havin'? You 'ave no crew, and ye be on my ship, which is full of my wench-starved men, whom are at the command of me. Ye be havin' no way ta escape." He said stopping his pace dead in front of her. Catalina gave him a look full of utter loathing and Barbossa reached out with the blade again, this time touching it to her bodice digging in with just a little force over one of the laces. "'Sides how were ya planning on stoppin' me?" And Barbossa popped the first lace.

[[ Dun Dun duuuuuuuuuuhn! Well there's a nice little bit.. dunno how I am doing on the Pirate talk.. hope its okay, and I also hope this plot line is making sense.. IDK… So what's gunna happen next? Will Barbossa find the map? Does she even have it? Is he gunna punish her for her little joke earlier? And When's Mr. Sparrow coming in?? All to come… –-Edwardsonly]]


	3. Questions

"_Why should I give it to you?" Catalina spit quietly._

"_Because Miss Ramston, what other option do ye be havin'? You 'ave no crew, and ye be on my ship, which is full of my wench-starved men, whom are at the command of me. Ye be havin' no way ta escape." He said stopping his pace dead in front of her. Catalina gave him a look full of utter loathing and Barbossa reached out with the blade again, this time touching it to her bodice digging in with just a little force over one of the laces. "'Sides how were ya planning on stoppin' me?" And Barbossa popped the first lace._

Catalina sat completely still as Barbossa popped a second lace with his knife. She either waited for him to completely undress her, or she gave him the map. And then a third lace was popped, she was running out of time. Catalina slowly looked up and into the eyes of the man who towered over her. He stared straight back into her brown eyes, and then he popped a forth. Catalina looked at him for a moment and then slowly moved to stand up. It was now or never, she had to turn on the charm, no matter how sick to her stomach it would make her feel. Barbossa's stare turned into a smirk, and he popped one more lace, Catalina only had three left before she was virtually shirtless in front of him. She slowly moved her hand up to his chest, fully standing up now, and pushed on him to make him back up, but he stood firm for a moment. She pushed harder and he relented and started to back up alowly as she walked sultrily forward. They continued this motion until Barbossa was backed up to his bed in the room adjoining to the main cabin, that's when he stopped. Catalina smiled slyly at him caressing her hand up and down his chest. Surely this wouldn't work? It was Barbossa, her tactics had worked on him before? But it was, there was no doubt, he was doing what she wanted..

Catalina pushed again but Barbossa's only response was to pop her remaining laces, still with that evil smile on face. Catalina stood in front of him, as her corset fell away leaving her only in a tattered, bloodied, low cut slightly see-through white shirt. She raised both her hands again to his chest and pushed at him again, motioning for him to sit on the bed, which he did. She stood there in front of him her hands still on his chest and waited a moment, now what she had him where she wanted him would she kill him? How could this possibly work to her advantage of her getting off this damned ship? But before she could make a a decision, it was Barsbossa who made the move. He grabbed her wrists, pulled her over him to lie down on the bed and laid on top of her. The motion caught her by surprise and and she gasped when it happened.

"Did you really think you could pull yer tricks on me girl?" Barbossa moved her wrists above her head and held them there, still smirking at their current position.

"I was hoping I could, yes," Catalina defiantly as she struggled against his hold. Barbossa laughed aloud again and put a hand on her stomach, inching her shirt up.

"Clearly the map isn't in yer corset Catalina, now where is it?" his tone was harsher now, and the game obviously was up, he wanted answers and he wanted them now.

Catalina sighed and struggled against him again. He just looked at her, she arched her eyebrows and he let go. Catalina reached down near the seam of the top of her pants, which hung low on her hips. She pulled out a tiny square of paper. Before she could hand it to him, he snatched it out of her hands and took it to the other room to his chart table.

"Stay there girl," he called out at her in a flat tone. She knew it was probably best she should. Catalina sat up on the bed but remained in her spot. What was going to happen now that he had the map? Did she even want to think about that?

She heard movement in the main cabin, and then a door open and close. He must have left to give a bearing. So maybe there was no opportune moment to be had after all, not if they were going to the treasure.

Catalina thought back to the events of the recent past and how he'd gotten here. It had been about 5 weeks back that she'd been on Jacks Ship, hitching a ride with him to not really anywhere in particular when he'd said the fateful words to her,

"You have to wait for the opportune moment love."

That right there had been the mistake. She waited a day or two and then saw her moment. Jack had a map, the very map that had gotten her into this situation, and she knew it was her ticket. They had stopped over to Tortuga for a brief visit and Jack and Catalina had been left to "watch" the ship. Catalina knew that to get the map out of Jack's hands was to distract him, and the only way to distract Jack, rum and women. In the end Catalina Drank a bit with him and then they had a "fight" as Jack phrased it when they had sex. While Jack slept Catalina had the crew members she had paid off to side with her to take over Jack's ship throw jack over board. She knew it had been harsh, but she left him there and took his map and ship.

A wave of guilt washed over her as she realized what she really had done to Jack. Whether she wanted to admit it out loud or not, she knew her and Jack had _something_, they had had _something_ for a long time now. Whatever that _something_ was she really had no idea. She had taken Jack's advice and waited for her moment, her moment to steal what she needed; she was just doing her "civic duty" as a pirate, take "what ya can give nothing back." So why did she feel so bad? She'd never felt guilty before.

She sat on the bed and mulled over the phrase for a moment. The phrase didn't say anything about taking from those you… _knew_. Maybe that's why she felt so bad, because of that _something _with Jack, because she _knew _him.

She was pulled from her thoughts as the Cabin door slammed back open; loud angry foot steps came angrily to the door of the bedroom. Barbossa's livid face appeared at the door. He came up to her and lifted her from the bed by the neck with one hand.

"What the hell is this girl?" he questioned holding the map to her face.

"It's a map you ass." She whispered hoarsely to him as her air supply was quickly being cut off..

"Yes girl, it's a map, but it's the wrong map." He said slapping her face with it.

Her head snapped to the side again, she grabbed at his hand desperately trying to get him to release her.

"Wrong map?" she spluttered. Her mind was slowing down, running out of oxygen, but still she was trying to make sense of what he was saying. How could it be the wrong map? It was the one she took off Jack. The one he had shown her…

" 's the one I took from Jack.." She said very slowly, she needed air she felt like she was being squished by ten thousand men's weight from lack of it.

Barbossa let her fall to the ground, she fell to the floor no chance of standing herself up.

"I don't believe ya wench," he said glaring down at her.

Catalina just laid there desperately trying to regain a grip on steadying her breathing.

"I think I'll be needin' to check and make sure its nowhere else on ya." Barbossa said pulling her roughly off the floor and back onto the bed. He pulled the scarf that was holding her hair back from her head, and pulled her wrists up to the bed post where he tied them with it. He bent down to smell her hair taking the long dark red tresses into his hands. He pulled his knife out again and slowly ripped the shirt from her body, smiling at her wickedly.

[[Alright guys, finally got Chapter 3 up, and I am soooooo incredibly sorry it took so long, I never imagined it would. I got stuck in a writers block rut, and then got busy studying for my mid-terms next week. I feel horrible. I am also apologizing that this chapter is considerably shorter than the previous ones, I really just wanted to get this one out to ya guys.... I tried fairly hard to make sure there were no mistakes, but on the off chance there are some, please just shoot me a comment politely informing me (polite being the key :D ) ...And while we are one the subject, how about continuing to R/R!! Thanks tons guys! Special thanks to you faithful readers!! Chapter 4 should be up soon, but no guarantees as to when, mid-terms are next week..

Much love,

Edwardsonly]]


	4. Bright Lights

"_I think I'll be needin' to check and make sure its nowhere else on ya." Barbossa said pulling her roughly off the floor and back onto the bed. He pulled the scarf that was holding her hair back from her head, and pulled her wrists up to the bed post where he tied them with it. He bent down to smell her hair taking the long dark red tresses into his hands. He pulled his knife out again and slowly ripped the shirt from her body, smiling at her wickedly._

Catalina looked right at Barbossa straight in the eye, fear with written all over her face. She had no problem being undressed by a man, or even being tied up and undressed by a man on occasion, but _not_ like this, _not_ with him. She was terrified of Barbossa, terrified he could see through her, terrified he could read her, and terrified that she had no escape.

Her shirt fell away from her body as his knife met the top of it. The man who was now straddling her half-naked form smiled wickedly down at her, slowly grazing the back of his hand up her stomach, across her exposed chest, lingering there a moment and then finally coming to rest on her collar bone. He leaned in close to her as if to kiss her; Catalina who was still petrified with _fear_, if thats what it could be called, didn't move. Maybe it was the past with him that made her so afraid of him? But in all reality she had no idea what made her afraid of him, she wasn't afraid of men usually. All she knew was that she had no idea what she should do to get out of this escalating bad situation.

As Barbossa leaned closer to her he kept his eyes locked on her; but instead of moving to kiss her lips he began kissing her neck, still keeping his eyes on her. All she could do was attempt to shift herself away from him but, but this movement was unsuccessful.

A sudden realization washed over her, this was exactly what he wanted, to make her petrified, cause her to be afraid. This was somehow a sick pleasure to him. As he continued kissing her he moved his hands down her body. He slowly detached himself from her neck and moved to unlace her boots. After removing them, he checked inside for any sign of another map, but obviously there was none to be found. He gave her a quick glance of anger and then busied himself with removing her pants. Once he had her entirely naked he returned that sick smirk to his face. Catalina shifted herself again, trying without success to cover herself but it was an impossible task.

"Maybe you weren't lying after all eh?" Barbossa bent in towards her again to this time however, kiss her on the lips. As his lips touched hers, she struggled against him, trying desperately to detach her face from his putrid one. He smiled into her lips and continued his work on them. She was tired of struggling with him tired of being treated like a low wench. It was time for her to fight back; so she spit into his face again. He immediately stopped kissing her and struck her so hard she felt the side of her face where his hand had collided with it go numb.

"You insolent wench!" He roared at her, menace billowing out of his eyes. With the glare still on his face he re-positioned himself to straddle her once again. He began kissing her neck for a second time with ferocity, trying to show her that no matter what she tried he would still have control over her, and still continue what he was doing. While he was slobbering all over her neck he slowly raised his knife to her arm that had been injured earlier in the day. She didn't notice this movement until he dug it into where the other wound had already been. He stopped kissing her and watched evilly has she shrieked and writhed in pain, a smile spread across his face again.

"I needed to find a new way to teach you a lesson my dear, and it seemed my other methods weren't working." Barbossa said leaning in close to her ear to whisper it. "This was just very convenient," He stroked her hair and shushed her quietly.

Catalina was in more pain than she felt she'd ever been in her life, he had blown up her bloody ship, beaten her, violated her, and now he was shushing her? She was infuriated, and she felt as if her fear of him was temporarily draining from her. Needless to say she didn't care at this moment; if he killed her he killed her, it couldn't be any worse than this. She lifted her knee up into his groin which was still over her as he was straddling her. He immediately keeled off of her and onto the floor, very surprised at her actions. He was only on the ground and quicker than she thought he would have responded he was off the ground and next to her with his gun ready to fire into her temple. He was possibly now as mad as she, and breathing heavily, he was clearly struggling with whether or not to kill her now or later. Without saying a word he flipped the gun around and took the back of it to her head. The last thing Catalina remembered before blackness crept over her was the 'thunk' of the gun as it met her skull. Catalina's head lolled to the side as she was effectively knocked out.

Barbossa was in more pain then he wished to show, as he had been a bit _excited_ as he straddled her when she'd kneed him. He had decided killing her wouldn't be worth it. Barbossa bent over, hands on knees as he tried to breathe through the pain. Perhaps he could use her as a bargaining item to retrieve the map from Sparrow? There was something between this girl and Jack, and he had a feeling the guilt of her death being on Jack's hands was something that Sparrow couldn't handle. After all, that _was _Sparrows true down fall as a pirate, Jack was, in his own bizarre way, he was actually a good man. If Jack knew that Catalina had died and he had been able to stop it, like say trade the map for her life, and he hadn't traded the map and she _had_ died, Jack would never be able to look at himself again. Whether he showed that on the outside or not Barbossa knew it for a fact. (Plus there was a large entertainment value in watch Jack struggle over a girl, and treasure.)

He stood up straight again, feeling the pain start to ebb away. He looked down at the unconscious and naked woman bound to his bed. This brought a smile back to his face, her liaing there naked and unconscious, unable to protest. His mind snapped back to other things, he supposed he should tie something around her arm so that the bleeding stopped. He didn't really care whether the wound got infected or not, whether she died was really not important to him in the long run, as long as her death didn't come before he needed her. He picked up her ripped shirt and tore a long strip of fabric from it. He took the torn fabric and tied it tightly a few times around her slender ripped open arm grazing his hand slowly along her tanned skin. His mind slipped back again to thoughts of the woman laying in front of him, it really wasn't that hard understand why men fell for her _charms_, she was ravishingly beautiful with her long dark red locks that flowed wild around her, her not-to-small chest, and her petite size. He shrugged off his thoughts again about her appearance and left the room to find something for her to wear.

* * *

Catalina stirred awake slowly. Her eyes still closed, but she began feeling the pounding in her head, particularly on the side where she was pretty sure a large bump had formed. She let a quiet moan slip through her lips as opened her eyes drowsily. It was almost completely dark in the room where she lay, Barbossa must have left her after he'd knocked her out, she wasn't completely sure of this, but she did know for sure he wasn't in the room with her now. She sat up to look around, noticing now, her hands were no longer attached to the bed-post, but just simply bound together; she also noticed she was now wearing clothing, which she hadn't been when she was last conscious.

"Damn him to hell!" she whispered to herself. The Bastard had dressed her while she was out. She would have preferred him to leave her there naked rather than have him touch while she was unconscious and incapable of any form of protest. She looked over what she was now wearing, her pants, which thankfully he hadn't ripped to shreds with the rest of her cloths, had survived and were on her, she was also wearing a different corset, which would make sense seeing as he had rendered her old one completely useless now. She did note however, that was all she was wearing however. Her coat must still be out in the main cabin. Her chest was very much _out_. She cringed and grumbled, it disgusted her to think of him dressing her in _this_. What was he thinking about when he dressed her like _this._ She cringed again at her hand on her body.

"Bloody Bastard!" She said aloud again, a little louder this time. "I'm gunna kill him!"

Clearly she had been heard this time because she heard the door handle turn and Barbossa entered the room, letting in light as he entered. The light caused her to squint her eyes, and made her head hurt even worse, but she sat up straighter and glared at him, ignoring the beam of light shining in on her and the pain it caused.

As Barbossa entered the room his eyes grazed over her overly pronounced chest, and then slowly back up into her face.

"Glad ta' see yer awake. Good luck tryin' ta kill me all bound up. We're a bit outta Tortuga, should be thar' 'bout sun down." Barbossa spoke quickly.

"Tortuga?" Catalina questioned confused trying to process what he was saying, still slow from having just woken up.

"Tortuga." Barbossa replied simply still standing in the doorway.

Catalina cocked her head to the side, trying to imagine why Barbossa would bring her there.

"How long have I been out?" She asked, shifting her self a bit closer to the edge of the bed.

Barbossa took a few more steps into the room and replied, "A day or so, part of it musta' been exhaustion and the rest of it, the actual hit ta' the head." He leaned to her and brushed a whisp of hair out of her face, "Ya' ta sit tight in here till we reach port." I'll come back fer ya then." Barbossa turned to leave.

Catalina raised her bound hands, still held together by her head scarf, "And these? They have to stay on?" Barbossa turned his head back to her as he reached the door,

"I see know reason fer them ta come off.." He left the room and shut the door behind him.

Catalina even more frustrated than before huffed a sighed and flopped back against the head board, grumbling various insults and frustrations towards her captor.

She hated having to wait, and even more, hated not knowing what was going to happen. As she sat there fuming, Catalina began to think about her past. Thoughts of Jack floated into her mind, in a way, she missed him…

WHAT THE BLOODY HELL WAS SHE DOING? She quickly shoved those particular thoughts from the forefront of her mind, desperately trying to ignore the fact that she just thought she missed _him_. Who in the world misses _Jack Sparrow_? Catalina tried to think about something else, but his face kept popping in and out of her thought. She sat there remembering the events that brought her to really _knowing_ Jack…

[[Aaaannnd cue failure music....

Okay guys, well I finally got it up.. after what like 3 weeks? I am soooo sorry it took me so long, hopefully its worth it? I am officially on Holiday Break and officially done with finals, so with luck I will have some more time to bust out more chapters, I am aiming for another one with in the next couple of days.. I absolutely love it when I get reviews, literally they make me squeal girlishly and make me all giddy.. Comments especially inspire me to write more.. *hint hint* keep it up y'all and as always, hit me up with feedback on pirate speak, your thoughts on characters, anything! Hope the ending wasn't _too_ crappy..

So much love for y'all,

Edwardsonly]]


	5. Running Away

_WHAT THE BLOODY HELL WAS SHE DOING? She quickly shoved those particular thoughts from the forefront of her mind, desperately trying to ignore the fact that she just thought she missed __him__. Who in the world misses __Jack Sparrow__? Catalina tried to think about something else, but his face kept popping in and out of her thought. She sat there remembering the events that brought her to really __knowing__ Jack…_

Catalina sat forward on the bed, jarring her shoulder as she moved, _'should that hurt so much?' _she thought to herself, wincing. She had been shot before, stabbed before, beaten before, but never had it hurt this much a day or so later. She stood up to look in a vanity mirror that was tucked into a tiny corner of Barbossa's cabin; she moved as quietly as she could, not wanting to alert anyone she was up moving around.

The room was dark, regardless of the daylight outside of the cabin. There was only a slight porthole in this room but it had been blackened out, probably out of frustration by many a harsh morning after too much rum.. There was however just enough for Catalina to see her arm had an unhealthy tinge of yellow to it. She winced again, taking in its appearance and considering how this couldn't be right. She moved to touch at her shoulder again, only to remember her hands were bound tightly. Letting out a sight she turned to sit back on the again. She felt trapped and uncomfortable. She never felt that way on Jack's ship..

'_There you go again..' _ the nasty little voice in her head perked up as in had earlier when she was under the ship in a cell.

"What?" Catalina said quietly out loud.

'_Thinking about Jack huh? Isn't that wrong? You stole from him.. you aren't supposed to steal and use people you miss…'_

"He uses me all the time" Catalina retorted in a quiet tone.

'_As do you him..'_

Catalina considered this point; hers and Jack's relationship had always been what seemed to be that of convenience. If she needed force or numbers she could persuade Jack to assist, if he needed a woman's touch or persuasion she would be Jacks first choice, if she wanted a free drink Jack could always help, if he needed something delicately stolen she's be happy to assist, if either of them needed to scratch an itch they'd both help. Nothing Catalina could think of made her believe anything in their _partnership_ had ever been more than use.

Catalina laidback slowly on the bed easing into the pain she felt in her when her body's weight laid on it. She was tired again, or drowsy.. her eyes slowed to an easy blink, taking more and more time to re open each time they closed. As he mind slowed down she began to think images bagan to slip into the forefront of her mind of a woman richly dressed arguing with a younger teenage girl.

'_I don't want to get married.' 'Its what you owe your father for the life you have been given!' 'I never asked for this, and if I could have I wouldn't have.' 'You don't mean that.' 'Mother, I do.'_

The richly dressed woman sat down on chair and began to sob. The much younger woman turned her back from the sobbing one crossing her arms.

'_I know what you will do.' _The younger girl turned at this. _'You cant run away.. you aren't… you aren't strong enough for the life you are choosing.'_ The woman continued to sob, she herself turning at her words, regret for saying them plastered on her face now. The young girl dropped her arms in shock and remained silent for a moment, then crossed to her mother knelt and said, _'You say that now, but you will see.. you showed me how not to be..'_ The mother stopped her sobbing and looked into the eyes of the young girl that knelt before her. '_I wont be forced into something, I will live a life of my choosing and I will fight. I wont be like you.'_ The young girl said as she stood; her face was strong but regret was in her eyes for hurting her mother with her words. The sobbing woman fell to the floor crying harder now.

The images in Catalina's mind changed to a familiar sight, a port with its normal sounds, water sloshing into the wood of the docks, loud music, shouts, giggles, screams (both of pain and pleasure); it was Tortuga. The image again shifted to a young man who stepped from a long boat on a small crowd from a trader's ship, the crew he had been traveling with looked wary but their eyes excited with their surroundings. The young man looked nervous, sick even, as he clutched a small ruck sack over his shoulder as he followed a trail of men into the port. He was wearing loose fitting pants, fairly worn shoes, a bandanna tightly wrapped around his head, a hat atop that, and a very large loose fitting shirt and much smaller jacket over that. He just didn't seem to fit.

The men began to dispurse and before long he was left walking the streets among the crowd alone. He stopped in front of a tavern with a large sign hanging precariously to the right above the door that read _Pearled Red_ he considered it a moment and then walked inside. Still looking around with both fear and amazement on his face he was jerked suddenly by his collar to a dark corner behind the bar. Before he could react a large woman whose bust was hanging way to much out for her age had him held up to a wall, his feet barely touching the floor. If he looked scared before, he certainly worse for the wear now. The woman spoke quietly, the smell of roses and whisky floating to the boy,

'_You aren't fooling anyone child'._ The boys look of fear deepened even further now, his eyes shifting from left to right, seemingly looking to see if anyone was watching. There was a thud as his bag, once over his shoulder dropped to the floor. _'Im not, im.. im not sure I know what you are saying,' _he spluttered out at her in an almost inaudible voice. The woman lowered him slightly now, one eyebrow raised, it was obvious by her expression she wasn't sure she believed him. They stared at each other for a moment then she spoke again.

'_What are you doing here.''I was just curious'_ the boys spluttered out, _'honestly!'_ The woman's expression remained unchanged. '_Not for the women or the rum then?' _The boy hesitated a moment judging the situation. He was very much alone and she was very much bigger then he. '_No.. no.. I was just, I mean yes. I came for uh.. a glass of rum.' _

The woman hauled the boy up the wall again, this time fully off his feet. He looked almost ready to cry. '_I knew this wasn't right, you are going to get yourself killed.' _The woman didn't wait for a response, still holding to the collar of the jacket and shirt she hauled the boy from the corner back out into the main room of the tavern, up the stairs and into a large room slamming the door as she went. Then, she pulled the hat and in tow the scarf off the head of her captive revealing in fact he was not a boy, he was in fact a young woman, the young woman from the images earlier of the argument, a young woman Catalina now recognized as herself a few years ago.

The images continued in Catalina's half-awake state, she saw the large woman smile in satisfaction as what was a now obviously a young girl trying to disguise herself as a young cabin boy appeared shocked someone found them out. The large woman asked again, much less harshly this time however, '_What do you think you are doing?'_ She ended the question in a soft tone as she crossed her arms with minor distain.

The young girl stood in shock before the woman trying to piece together words, '_running away'_ the young girl said simply. The woman stood straight now, crossing to the girl and placing her hands on the younger ones shoulders, _'then I would say you have come to right place.'_

_[[Authors Note:  
_

_Good golly it has been a long time, I was digging through files on my computer and found the beginnings of this story, I decided to give it another go, hopefully my old writing and my new match up.. As always I appreciate R/R and thanks! -EdwardsOnly]]  
_


	6. Memories

_The young girl stood in shock before the woman trying to piece together words, '__running away'__ the young girl said simply. The woman stood straight now, crossing to the girl and placing her hands on the younger ones shoulders, __'then I would say you have come to right place.'_

Catalina felt her mind come slowly back into the room from her thoughts of the boy now revealed girl. She laid half on the bed, her feet on the floor her back on the edge and stared at the ceiling; her lower body moving slightly with the rocking of the ship and her upper body feeling locked to the bed. She felt that she was moving, but at the same time, that she was not. The thoughts running through Catalina's mind seemed somewhere between reality and a made up story in her head, she could not place past, present or fiction. Everything seemed blurred and heavy.

Catalina shivered, trying to find reality in her mind. As it began to come back she realized that shivering did not seem right, it was the height of summer and she was in a stuffy cabin filled with thick, musty, warm air. '_Maybe its because I'm not wearing a shirt.' _Catalina thought bitterly to herself. '_Bastard..'_ her internal dialogue continued attacking Barbossa for being perverse. It wasn't that she was uncomfortable being scantily clad, she became used to that when she had run from the protection, or _confines_ of strict and stiff higher society a few years previously; she didn't whore herself out, she wasn't allowed to, but a girl has to bring in some money, or at least be able to trick-out money. She was taught a long time ago, get what you can by teasing out what you can. She was caught the curvature of a woman can get a woman anything she wants or needs.

All the same however, a shiver was not something she should be feeling, nor should she be feeling it while sweating profusely, and being aware the room around her was warm. Speaking to herself again Catalina said out loud, "This cannot be right." Feeling restless again she moved to stand up, letting out a hard sigh. It was hard going, she felt achy and tired, '_I swam a lot today, I'm just sore.'_ But she eventually managed to pull up to a sitting position and then worked slowly to a standing position. Taking a minute to adjust to the swaying of her feet below her, her mind swam with dark spots. She took a few steps forward and then her breath caught. She felt like her head was being held under rushing water, like the time she ran through the water falls on the island that expanded outside of the confines of the port of Tortuga. Like the water was rushing down over her head making it impossible to hear, pulling her hair down with its pounding weight, making all of her feel heavy. But no, she was on a ship, not in the dense trees under a waterfall, she was not wet but dry. Her mind raced trying to make sense, her breathing sped up trying to meet the demand of the effort it took to stay upright but then she met total darkness, and then the floor.

The dark and perfumed room that was the tavern at Pearled Red was crowded as usual; the bay had been more than full late in the afternoon scattered with ships stopped over from long passages. What was not normal however was a ship was drifting into Port that made people uneasy, made the drinking heavier tonight, just as the sun was setting but so far had stayed in the bay. The frequent of Tortuga and those that always stayed in Tortuga knew it could be the usual drunken night or the evening could turn bloody if the crew had any real purpose for being in port other than to just simple be at ease. As darkness settled in, the streets that were usually busy moved their hustled to the establishments avoiding the impending visit.

For Pearled Red it was an unchanged night, its bar was busy and its tables were crowded. The building was not the biggest on the strip but it was kept busy. The room that made up Pearled Red had a tall ceiling, tables and chairs packed the room stretching from the door to the long high bar settled into the back wall. There were two twin flights of stair to the left and right of the front door, both sliding up the wall and leading to a balcony overlooking the bar. The balcony allowed for tucked away tables to be pushed up against the wall for quiet conversation outside of the music and party, some of these were big and some small. There were various doors leading to rooms off this balcony, all of them shut. The balcony mostly consisted of women looking down into the room, five or six waiting to _sell their goods_. May, the owner, a large woman, who while she had aged well, she had put on weight well past what most of the girls who worked for her were framed at, was always seen behind the bar, breaking up a fight, or leering from a corner. There were women behind the bar and spread throughout the tavern as well, sittings on men's laps, being pressed against walls, selling rum..

May's was not an establishment you came in unless you came in it often; and it was not one you came in alone. Those that frequented here were not those that came to Tortuga to see what it was about or barter their way onto a trade ship. Those that came here had records, were not afraid of being set in the stocks, or being hung, these wer the types that feared an angered sea or Davy Jones himself. These men were Pirates.

Pearled Red was also not one know for housing ugly girls. Most were wenches that whored themselves out at May's profit but a select few were strictly off limits. These were the ones that tended the bars, and kept the men happy to a certain point. They were instructed to _'please but not to finish.' _Catalina was sitting on the bar leaned into wards a man who had been drinking heavily, he had his hand rested on his thigh and was joking loudly with a few others. Dressed in a heavy long black ruffled skirt cut up to her high thigh and a tightened corset she was by no means hard to look at. The tight corset made her waist small and chest bulge; she had a bottle in her hand and was laughing hard. The group that surrounded the man all had women hanging on their arms enjoying the beginning of the night. May stared closely as the man's hand slid slowly up her young barmaids thigh, she did not intervene with her girls often but Catalina was one she would shoot to kill for. The girl could bring in money that's for sure, but she wanted the money to come from tending only not from whoring. This girl was one of May's select few that were only touched when she said so.

The night carried on with loud joking and drinking, singing and drinking, small fights and drinking. After a while the group moved to a table to play cards. Catalina was pulled to a man's lap to 'learn to play' their game; Catalina put on that she had no clue but intended otherwise, she was excellent with a hand of cards and was in it strictly to earn her keep with may. She played a few hands this way sitting pressed up against the man's chest letting him play with edge of her skirt and her thigh giggling slightly as he tried to keep his focus on his game. She would let him believe he was teaching her and then repeadelt y keep winning, trying to convince him it was beginners luck. About the time that his hand was making progress past the edge of her skirt and moving to be under it, the doors slammed open, the room fell silent. A crew of about twenty men walked silently in.

It was apparent these men were widely known, although Catalina had not seen them in the two months she'd been in Port. All of the men were large statured, scared and sea worn. All had the look about them of those you don't say no to. The tavern was full of people who had been drinking for quite some time but even their drunken minds knew it was not smart to speak. The crew spread out in the room plucking up girls at random from other men, a few of them waving down some from the balcony all heading towards the back of the tavern under the darkened overhang and into the corner where a large table sat. There were a few passed out people in this corner but they were quickly discarded outside or onto the floor. As the men dispersed to the corner a large man slowly crossed the threshold of Pearled Red. May, who had previously been cleaning a glass at the bar crossed quickly to him, it was apparent she knew him. She immediately engaged him, he didn't stop saunter but he did seem to be listening.

The voices in the bar picked back up, as did the music as everyone settled back in. Catalina felt uneasy and could not place why. She did not turn her full gaze to the man but was watching him trying her best to go unnoticed. She was a small woman in stature, her head coming to most men's chins but she knew standing next to this man she would come to only his mid-chest. He was broad shoulder and dark skinned from long years in the sun. He wore heavy boots, dark pants and a heavy rich looking coat, similar to that of a Naval captains, although slightly tattered. His shirt was a thin lightly colored one, open to his chest which was scarred and tattooed, showing he had been places Catalina had only read about. When she allowed herself a glimpse of his face she regretted it immediately. She was not a timid woman but something in his eyes scared her, he was not a kind man in any way. They were sunken and cold; he was a moderately attractive man but she could not place his age, his hair hidden beneath his hat and bandanna, and a scar stretched from his chin to right eye.

The man and May continued their slow walk to the back of the bar where the others had gathered. Catalina did her best to stay focused on her table but she kept glancing at the pair. As they walked their course was swayed when he caught her looking at him out of the corner of her eye. He changed his direction towards her now. Her heart dropped. When they passed her table, he did not stop his travel but instead placed a hand on the back of her neck and trailed in slowly across her shoulder in passing. This sent a shiver down her spine, not out of pleasure, but out of fear. May kept pace with the man but looked back warningly at Catalina as they walked. With this she snapped her attention back to the table.

Of the four girls at the table amongst five men she had been the only one not taken away by the group as they entered. She remained placed on her counterpart's lap, who seemed unphased by all of this, both the sudden presence and his ship mates discontent at their nights pleasure being taken but also at Catalina's uneasiness. They sat this way for a short time following unmoving , the conversation continuing, Catalina however caught herself frequently looking over at the men now drinking heavily, the unperturbed women she worked with throwing themselves all over the crew and each other. She couldn't immediately bring herself to again look at the man after he caught her, but when she finally did, she found he had been staring at her. He was being engaged by a fervent May but fixated on Catalina. When he caught her quick gaze he changed his glance to May and then back to Catalina, she stopped talking immediately and got up.

It was like time hadn't moved and May was there pulling Catalina from an angry sailors lap. He protested but was left unanswered. Before she felt her feet moving was pulled almost to the back corner, all May said, was "Do what your told, don't talk." The whole time, the large man, who Catalina now placed as the Captain of this crew didn't remove his gaze from her. May stopped only at the bar to grab a full bottle of rum, placing it in her young barmaids hand and then pushed her towards the group.

Catalina knew without being told this was for the Captain and he wanted her to bring it to him. Not being one to run from anything she took in a deep breath and walked straight up to the group demanding of herself she hold his gaze even as terror, for some unknown reason, tore through her. When she reached him, before she had even stopped, with one hand he took the bottle and with the other pulled her small frame to stand in between his legs as he sat before her. The crew did not pay any attention to the interaction all wrapped in their own conversations, drink and women. He was so much larger than her that with him sitting and her standing she was only slightly taller than him. As she stood before him he held her gaze, as small frightening smile beginning to creep to the corner of his lips, he brought the bottle slowly to his lips, eyes unfaltering, and took a large swig from it. As he did he wrapped his hand around her waist and down over her butt cupping her even closer to him. Catalina kept her gaze on him trying to not show she desperately wished to be back behind the bar or with the other man from a few minutes ago.

As if he had known she was thinking this, drunkenly the small group stumbled over, now visibly angry, all of them had lost their women, their card game interrupted and their night was over. The leader, who previously had had Catalina in his arms walked straight up to her and pulled her by the elbow back from her currently place roughly.

"I was playing with that wench" He said slobbering out his words. A man sitting to the Captain's right stood up now moving Catalina easily as she starred in awe at the obvious stupidity before her. -The small group was easily outnumbered and it was a apparent this was not a group to be trifled with. Again the establishment fell silent. The Captain allowed for Catalina to be moved from in front of him, and took another draw from his bottle slamming it on the table, turning his gaze to the group.

The men began their shouting again and another demanding at the Captain, "Did you 'ear 'im? He said that girl was 'is".

Another chimed in now, "ya and you lot come trompin' in 'ear pullin' up or women and ending our night. Sounds like you be startin' somethin' you cant be finishin'."

The crew began to have angry conversations amongst themselves, hands moving to their weapons. Catalina shifted her weight looking now for May but could not find her. It was not the first time she had been the cause of a fight, but never the cause of a fight in such a seedy group. Her movement did not go unnoticed; the man who had displaced her from the space between the Captain's legs now firmly grasped her shoulder with his hand, pulling her slightly further from the argument and towards him, his hand resting on a gun holstered at this thigh.

The Captain again unmoving took another swig from his bottle as the man from earlier spoke up again, now pulling out his own gun and beginning to cock it, "I want 'er back, I wanted to see what was under tha' skirt." He slurred out.

Before he could raise his gun any further the sound of a shot rang. Bottle back in hand, the Captain had pulled his own gun and shot the man in the forehead. The others from the small crew moved to their weapons as well but were all shot dead except for one. Hestood dazed and glanced around at the bodies of his companions. The Captain stood up now and stepped towards him.

He spoke in a low heavy tone, "I don't take kindly to disrespect" slowly moving towards the now shaking man. "Go tell the rest of your crew in town that the Ravage is in Port, and you need to be making way." His speech was clean and not shortened like Catalina was used to of late, he sounded like someone from _home_.

The trembling man stumbled back and ran from the bar. Again the silence was slowly broken as chattered started back up. Those from the crew that had angrily stood settled back into the seats as the Captain turned back to his seat. He sat slowly down in his chair and turned to his counterpart that was still holding Catalina's shoulder. His glare was angry as he must have been displeased at the situation, but he now raised his hand as if holding it out for her; the man released her pushing her towards his leader. The Captain pulled her immediately to his lap by the wrist, then placing his lips behind her ear. Catalina shook briefly scared now more than ever. He breathed in deeply then spoke at only a whisper,

"Tell me love, I am interested, how did someone like you end up here?"

[[_Author's Note: HOT DAMN_ _that was a long chapter.. I had a lot I needed to get out.. hopefully I am painting a good picture and getting the story moving. I am hoping someone somewhere is reading this, and if not that's cool too I am a typing this for myself some, I needed to get it out.. Keep R/R -E.O.]]_


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